Directed by Bong Joon-ho
* * * *
I’m having trouble coming up
with an opening paragraph for my review of Parasite, Bong Joon-ho’s universally acclaimed satire on class. There’s an element of it that is simply beyond description, despite Parasite being quite accessible – it’s simply
one of those movies best discovered on your own, and is best walked into
knowing as little as possible. But, if you’re reading this, you want to know
what I have to say: Bong Joon-ho has a remarkable track record in his career,
and Parasite is no exception. While I don’t think it’s going to live on
as one of the all-time great Korean films, I can’t think of a bad thing to say
about it. You can clearly see that 4/4 rating above, and if you can take my
word for it, stop reading here and go see it. It’s good. Damn good.
From here on out, I’m doing my
absolute best to avoid spoilers, but proceed at your own risk.
We are introduced to the Kim
family, and there’s no other way to put it: they are dirt poor. Without a pot
to piss in or a window to throw it out, they spend their days attempting to
construct pizza boxes (1 out of 4 boxes are unusable) and opening their windows
for free bug extermination when the fumigators roll into the neighborhood. A
light shines at the end of this impoverished tunnel, though: son Ki-woo (Choi
Woo-sik) is offered a job to teach English to the daughter of the Parks, a
family so rich they probably don’t even know what to do with their money.
Despite having no credentials, he is hired and accepted into the Park home,
where he sees the perfect job opportunity for his art-inclined sister (Park
So-dam). Before too long, the entire Kim family is working at this house
(albeit, fraudulently), serving as the laborious backbone of the Parks.
I cease my plot synopsis here.
I feel to say any more would result in some kind of criminal prosecution,
because the yarn-ball that is Parasite unspools from one of the best
scripts in a while. The Kim family is easy to warm up to, and the urgency of
their poverty grabs your attention. With this, seeing them gradually shift from
poverty to prosperity wonderful unto itself, but also darkly thrilling as they
cleverly integrate themselves into the Park’s work force, pulling off one of
the most memorable cons in 21st Century Cinema.
By all means, Parasite tells the kind of story that should agonizingly
test (if not shatter) one’s verisimilitude, with all of the twists and turns it
takes throughout. Amazingly, this never happens: no matter how wild or
unrealistic a certain idea may seem, Parasite
brilliantly rebounds into the
realm of reality and possibility. For instance, without spoiling too much, a
major twist occurs when things go…under, so to speak (you’ll know what I’m
talking about once you see the film). Just when the movie was escaping believability,
a quick explanation was given – rather than feeling like a hand-wave, it made
complete sense.
Bong Joon-ho’s direction certainly plays a huge part in Parasite’s ultimate effect. It’s exciting upon the start, and the film becomes
more and more gnarled as it goes on, resulting in a climax that goes completely
off the rails. There’s major risk of things getting too out of hand, but Bong
keeps everything in check the entire film – pacing is always consistent, shifts
in tone are always warranted, and the film never bites off more than it could
chew.
But I think what I admire most is the treatment of the two families.
The subject of class in Parasite has been brought up for every discussion on
the film. Considering this day in age, I feared that this would be a one
dimensional “evil rich vs. misunderstood but gold-hearted poor” nonsense. To my
surprise (and relief), this was not the case. Yes, the Parks (the rich) aren’t
depicted in the most flattering light, but they’re not bad people – they’re
just well-intentioned people whose naivete has become more prominent with their
riches. As for the Kims, though they’re poor with almost nothing left to lose:
considering that the family is pulling off one hell of a con job, the film
never gives them license to get away with whatever they want beyond that (for
the most part, anyway). You ultimately root for the Kims, but nobody becomes
your object of hatred or intense condescension.
Parasite took home the
Palme d’Or at Cannes 2019. I must admit that I am not convinced of this level
of greatness – along with a lack of prominent or singular style, I feel the
commentary on class tends to take a backseat to the incredible story, instead
of the commentary emerging from the substance, though this will differ from
viewer to viewer. It doesn’t quite transcend for me, but speaking on its own
merits, I can’t say a bad thing about it. It accomplishes everything it set out
to become without a single point of significant fault. I may see myself moving
on from Parasite in a few months or so, but I definitely won’t forget
it.
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